Serial-Bus Interface for Mutli-Die Module

ABSTRACT

Circuits and methods for efficient interconnect layout of multiple circuit elements, including integrated circuits (ICs), within a circuit module, while enabling only a single control/status (C/S) connection per module. In a first embodiment, the C/S interfaces of multiple ICs are configured in parallel within a multi-IC module, and coupled through a single module serial bus to a system C/S serial bus. In a second embodiment, the C/S interface of a primary IC is coupled through a single module serial bus to a system C/S serial bus, while a secondary IC is internally serially coupled to a “pass through” interface of the primary IC. In a third embodiment, a dynamic address translation circuit translates device and register address information provided by a master device into corresponding internal addresses, and re-directs command messages from a system C/S serial bus to internal slave devices.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is related to U.S. application Ser. No. 15/340,832entitled “Serial-Bus Interface for Multi-Die Module” (Attorney DocketNo. PER-200-PAP-1) filed on Nov. 1, 2016 and incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND (1) Technical Field

This invention relates to electronic circuits, and more particularly toelectronic integrated circuits interconnected by a serial bus.

(2) Background

Modern electronic circuits, particularly radio frequency (RF) electroniccircuits, are commonly implemented by interconnecting one or moreintegrated circuits (“ICs”, also known as “dies”), each providing one ormore desired functions, such as amplification, modulation/demodulation,tuning, switching, etc. It is also common to embed at least one IC andadditional external circuit elements (e.g., filters, tuning elements,etc.) in a circuit module configured to be coupled to other circuitmodules and/or additional external circuit elements or system elements(e.g., user controls, antennas, etc.).

In the realm of RF electronics, RF communication systems typicallyinclude “RF front-end” (RFFE) circuitry, which is a generic term for allof the circuitry between a radio antenna up to and including the mixerstage of a radio. An industry standard serial bus has been developed bythe Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) Alliance to interconnectsets of circuit modules for RFFE circuitry. In particular, the MIPI RFFront-End (RFFE) Control Interface serial bus has been widely adopted ina variety of RF systems, particularly mobile wireless systems.

The MIPI RFFE serial bus is a serial, two-wire, master/slave interfaceoriginally designed for controlling a variety of RF front end devices,such as amplifiers, antenna switches, filters, etc. (since extended forcontrolling other modules or devices as well). One wire is abi-directional serial data line (SDATA), and the other wire is a “BusMaster” generated synchronous clock (SCLK). A third wire, VIO, may beused as a voltage reference/supply, to control power consumption, and toprovide reset and enable functions for the MIPI RFFE serial bus.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a generic circuit module 100. Includedwithin the example circuit module 100 is an IC 102 for receiving aninput signal, SigIN in this case. Coupled to the IC 102 is a set ofadditional external circuit elements 104 (shown as filters in thisexample) for processing some portion of the SigIN signal received fromthe IC 102, and returning the processed signal back to the IC 102 foradditional processing. The IC 102 provides an output signal (SigOUT inthis case) for the final processed signal. The IC 102 is coupled througha control and status (C/S) interface to a control/status serial bus 106,which may be a MIPI RFFE serial bus. As one example, the circuit module100 may receive an SigIN signal, modulate the signal within the IC 102onto a selected frequency band, filter the modulated signal through oneof the external circuit elements 104, and then impedance match thefiltered modulated signal to generate a matched, filtered, modulatedsignal at SigOUT.

In the illustrated example, interconnecting various elements within thecircuit module 100 can lead to tortuous routing of signal lines, asillustrated by the signal lines from the external circuit elements 104back to the IC 102, which are curved, have different lengths, and havedifferent inter-line spacing, all of which can be problematic whenrouting high frequency signals (e.g., RF signals at or above about 100MHz), especially when considering isolation concerns.

Accordingly, there is a need for providing improved and efficientinterconnect layouts for circuit elements within a circuit module,particularly an RF circuit module. The present invention meets this andother needs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention encompasses circuits and methods for providingimproved and efficient interconnect layouts for circuit elements,including integrated circuits (ICs), within a circuit module,particularly a radio frequency (RF) circuit module. The presentinvention also encompasses circuits and methods for providing serial buscontrol and status (C/S) connectivity to multi-IC modules withoutrequiring multiple C/S connections per module, thus enablingpartitioning of functionality across multiple ICs within a circuitmodule to enable efficient interconnect layout between such ICs.

In a first embodiment, the C/S interfaces of multiple ICs are configuredin parallel within a multi-IC module, and coupled through a singlemodule serial bus to a control/status serial bus (which may be a MIPIRFFE serial bus). In addition, the multiple ICs are configuredinternally with the same unique address (a “unique slave identifier,” orUSID), and thus respond to the same slave address. Thus, from the pointof view of a master device on the control/status serial bus, themulti-IC module appears to be a single addressable slave device. One ICis designated as the “primary device” within the multi-IC module todrive the control/status serial bus with Status information; anyadditional IC is designated as a “secondary device” and is speciallyconfigured to be “Register Read disabled”, thus responding only toControl information directed to registers within its register addressspace, and giving no response to requests for Status informationdirected to registers within its register address space.

In a second embodiment, the C/S interface of a primary IC is coupledthrough a single module serial bus to a control/status serial bus (whichmay be a MIPI RFFE serial bus). A secondary IC is internally seriallycoupled to a “pass-through” interface of the primary IC; additionalsecondary ICs may be coupled to the “pass-through” interface of theprimary IC over a serial bus, or “daisy chained” to each other in a likefashion (i.e., each secondary IC having a C/S interface as well as a“pass-through” interface). All of the ICs are configured internally withthe same USID, and thus respond to the same slave address. Accordingly,from the point of view of a master device on the control/status serialbus, the multi-IC module appears to be a single addressable slavedevice. Secondary devices may be specially configured to be “RegisterRead disabled” and thus not respond to a request for Status information(i.e., the secondary devices are “silent”). However, there is norequirement for secondary devices to be “silent”, as the primary devicecan be configured to prevent bus contention on the control/status serialbus, since all C/S information for the secondary device passes throughthe primary device.

In a third embodiment, a dynamic address translation (DAT) architectureprovides a way to create a multi-die module that at most incursmodification of the primary IC, leaving secondary ICs alone; in someembodiments, even the primary IC need not be changed. A DAT circuitincludes a C/S interface that is coupled through a single module serialbus to a control/status serial bus (which may be a MIPI RFFE serialbus). Again, from the point of view of a master device on thecontrol/status serial bus, the multi-IC module appears to be a singleaddressable slave device. The function of the DAT circuit is totranslate or map Device Address and Register Address informationprovided to the multi-IC module by a master device into correspondinginternal addresses, and re-direct command messages to internal slavedevices (primary and/or secondary) based on such translated internaladdresses. The translation may be done, for example, by combinatoriallogic and/or a look-up table. Such translation is possible because, dueto the internal partitioning of functions within the multi-IC module,the internal slave devices can be assigned unique sets of RegisterAddresses.

While embodiments of the invention are described at times in the contextof RF ICs, the teachings of the invention apply to electronic circuitsused for processing other frequency ranges.

The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth inthe accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features,objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thedescription and drawings, and from the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a generic circuit module.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a conceptual RF circuit module having RFfunctionality partitioned between two RF integrated circuits and havingimproved signal interconnect routing.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an internally parallel C/S embodiment of amulti-IC module with improved signal routing.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an internally serial C/S embodiment of amulti-IC module with improved signal routing.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a dynamic address translation C/Sembodiment of a multi-IC module with improved signal routing.

FIG. 6A is a block diagram of a stand-alone dynamic address translation(DAT) circuit coupled to multiple slave devices through dedicated serialsignal lines.

FIG. 6B is a block diagram of a stand-alone dynamic address translation(DAT) circuit coupled to multiple slave devices through shared serialsignal lines.

FIG. 7 is a process chart showing a method for connecting C/S interfacesof multiple ICs in parallel within a multi-IC module.

FIG. 8 is a process chart showing a method for connecting C/S interfacesof multiple ICs in series within a multi-IC module.

FIG. 9 is a process chart showing a method for connecting C/S interfacesof multiple ICs within a multi-IC module using a dynamic addresstranslation architecture.

Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicatelike elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention encompasses circuits and methods for providingimproved and efficient interconnect layouts for circuit elements,including integrated circuits (ICs), within a circuit module,particularly a radio frequency (RF) circuit module. The presentinvention also encompasses circuits and methods for providing serial buscontrol and status (C/S) connectivity to multi-IC modules withoutrequiring multiple C/S connections per module, thus enablingpartitioning of functionality across multiple ICs within a circuitmodule to enable efficient interconnect layout between such ICs.

While embodiments of the invention are described at times in the contextof radio frequency (RF) ICs, the teachings of the invention apply toelectronic circuits used for processing other frequency ranges.

Conceptual Solution to Intra-Module Routing of Signal Lines

One solution to the prior art problem of tortious interconnect layoutsfor circuit elements within a circuit module is to partition thefunctions of the IC 102 between two or more ICs which can be positionedwithin a circuit module so as to allow straightforward routing of signallines. For example, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a conceptual RF circuitmodule 200 having RF functionality partitioned between two RF integratedcircuits 202, 206 and having improved signal interconnect routing. Morespecifically, included within the example RF circuit module 200 is afirst IC 202 for receiving an RF input signal, SigIN. Coupled to thefirst IC 202 is a set of additional external circuit elements 204 (againshown as filters in this example) for processing some portion of theSigIN signal processed by and received from the first IC 202. The outputof the external circuit elements 204 is coupled to a second IC 206 foradditional processing. The second IC 206 provides an output signal,SigOUT, of the final processed RF signal. (As should be clear, the RFcircuit module 200 may include more than two ICs). The first IC 202 andthe second IC 206 include internal sets of corresponding read/writecontrol registers 208 a, 208 b, internally coupled to a correspondingcontrol/status (C/S) interface. The partitioning of functionality withinthe RF circuit module 200 allows straight, short routes for RF signallines between module elements.

Partitioning ICs within a module as shown in FIG. 2 to provide improvedRF signal interconnect routing creates a new problem: how to couple acontrol/status serial bus to the added IC or IC s through theirrespective C/S interfaces. System manufacturers, who may acquire modulesfrom a number of vendors, prefer a single C/S connection per module.Simply putting X number of ICs in one module reduces the physical numberof devices from X to one, but the logical number of devices is still X.Thus, partitioning ICs within a single module (without more) wouldrequire multiple C/S connection per module. Further, in many cases, aserial bus only supports a limited number of logical slave modules anddevices, and simple partitioning would require one or more extra C/Sconnections per module. For example, the MIPI RFFE serial bus onlysupports 15 logical slave modules; adding a module with multiple C/Sconnection per module would adversely impact system designs alreadyutilizing all 15 C/S connections of the MIPI RFFE serial bus.Accordingly, adding one or more control/status bus connections permodule is undesirable at the system level. Thus, there is a need forproviding serial bus C/S connectivity to multi-IC modules withoutrequiring multiple C/S connections per module, thereby preserving thesingle C/S connection per module preferred by system manufacturers butenabling partitioning of functionality across multiple ICS to enableefficient interconnect layout between such ICs.

C/S Serial Bus Characteristics

A fuller understanding of the functionality of a serial bus will makethe various embodiments of the invention easier to understand. Whilesome of the embodiments described below use the MIPI RFFE ControlInterface serial bus as an example of a serial bus, the invention is notlimited to that particular serial bus. Accordingly, embodiments of theinvention may be used with other serial buses, such as the SerialPeripheral Interface (SPI), I2C, I2S, SMBus, and/or PMBus.

Taking a particular implementation of the MIPI RFFE serial bus as oneexample, there are two signaling lines on the MIPI RFFE serial bus, SCLKand SDATA. The maximum trace length for SCLK and SDATA is about 15 cm,and the maximum number of slave devices on the serial bus is 15. TheSCLK signal line provides a clock signal that is always driven by themaster device on the serial bus, at a maximum clock rate of about 26 MHz(for MIPI RFFE 1.0) or 52 MHz (for MIPI RFFE 2.0). There is always amaster device, and up to 15 slave devices, each coupled to the SCLK andSDATA signal lines through a respective control and status (C/S)interface. In general, slave devices may support several operating modes(e.g., “startup”, “active state”, “shutdown”, “low-power mode”, etc.)and device-specific functions (e.g., operating parameters foramplifiers, switches, programmable tuning and/or filter components,etc.), which are selected by issuing command messages through thebit-serial SDATA signal line under the control of the SCLK signal line.

The SDATA signal line is driven high by the master while the SCLK signalline remains low to initiate a transfer; this is called the SequenceStart Condition or SSC. The SDATA signal line is driven high for theperiod of one clock cycle and then low for one clock period while theSCLK signal line is low. After an SSC event occurs, the SCLK and SDATAsignal lines are driven by the master device to transfer a 12-bitcommand frame (plus 1-bit odd parity).

The 12-bit command frame consists of two parts, a 4-bit slave DeviceAddress and an 8-bit operational command. The first 4 bits of thecommand frame are a slave address, SA[3:0], corresponding to a uniqueslave identifier (USID). If SA[3:0] are all zeroes, then the command isbroadcast to and acted upon by all slave devices. Commands that alldevices must respond to may include, for example, commands to “go to lowpower mode” or “reset to a known state”. The next 8 bits of the commandframe, C[8:0], are the operational command, comprising a 3-bit commandtype and a 5-bit Register Address, A[4:0]. A slave device having a USIDthat matches SA[3:0] decodes the operational command to determine thetype of command and a designated Register Address within the slavedevice.

In some implementations of the MIPI RFFE serial bus, only two commandtypes are supported: Register Read (for reading status information froma slave device) and Register Write (for providing control information toa slave device). The command types may be respectively indicated by acode in the first 3 bits of the 8-bit operational command (e.g.,Read=binary “011”, Write=binary “010”). The last 5 bits of the 8-bitoperational command designate a Register Address, A[4:0], within theslave device; accordingly, each slave device can support up to 32registers using the Register Write and Register Read commands (in someembodiments of slave devices, only a subset of the addressable registerspace is supported).

If a command indicates a Register Write command type, then the commandframe is followed by a Write Data frame driven by the master device. Asingle Write Data frame may contain from a few bits of payload data upto multiple (e.g., 16) bytes of payload data. Multiple Write Data framesmay be transmitted in sequence to an addressed slave device. Anaddressed slave device will store received payload data in an addressedregister, and respond as appropriate to the function of the slavedevice.

If a command indicates a Register Read command type, then the commandframe is followed by a “bus park” cycle, followed by a Read Data framedriven by the addressed slave device. If a Register Read commandaddresses a register not supported by the addressed slave device, thenthe addressed slave generates a “no response” frame in reply to thecommand frame (e.g., a frame of all zeroes with incorrect parity, forsome implementations of the MIPI RFFE serial bus).

Other serial bus standards typically have comparable command framestructures and command types. As should be clear from the entirety ofthis disclosure, the example given above of the MIPI RFFE bus is but oneof many possible serial buses (at various clock rates) that mayadvantageously utilize the inventive concepts of this disclosure.

With such a serial control and status (C/S) bus architecture andoperation in mind, embodiments of the invention include single-addressmulti-IC module slave devices having an internally parallel C/Sconfiguration, or an internally serial C/S configuration, or a dynamicaddress translation C/S configuration.

Parallel C/S Embodiment

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an internally parallel C/S embodiment of amulti-IC module 300 with improved signal routing. Except as describedbelow, the layout of components within the module 300 is as shown inFIG. 2, and accordingly the reference numbers of such elements remainsthe same. Internal read/write registers have been omitted for clarity.

In the illustrated embodiment, the control and status (C/S) interface ofboth the first IC 202 and the second IC 206 are configured in parallelwithin the multi-IC module 300, and coupled through a single moduleserial bus 302 to a control/status serial bus 304 (which may be a MIPIRFFE serial bus, as described above). In addition, both the first andsecond ICs 202, 206 are configured internally with the same USID, andthus both respond to the same slave address (e.g., SA[3:0]). Thus, fromthe point of view of a master device on the control/status serial bus304, the multi-IC module 300 appears to be a single addressable slavedevice.

Because there are multiple physical devices within the multi-IC module300, the register address space of the first and second ICs 202, 206 isallocated between them. For example, for a 5-bit Register Address (e.g.,A[4:0]), the first IC 202 may have registers at Register Addresses 0, 1,and 2, while the second IC 206 may have registers at Register Addresses4 and 5. Thus, the first and second ICs 202, 206 will only respond to aRegister Write command type that addresses a register within such ICscorresponding Register Address space.

Without more, the internally parallel architecture may be problematic,in that if both the first IC 202 and the second IC 206 try to drive thecontrol/status serial bus 304 simultaneously (e.g., in response to abroadcast command type), there would be a bus conflict which woulddegrade performance of the system, stress the parts, and potentiallylead to premature failure. The solution provided by this embodiment ofthe invention is to designate only one IC (the “primary device”) withinthe multi-IC module 300 to drive the control/status serial bus 304 withStatus information; any additional IC (a “secondary device”) isspecially configured to be “Register Read disabled” (i.e., “silent”).For example, the first IC 202 may be the primary device, and wouldrespond to Register Read commands directed to registers within itsregister address space. That would make the second IC 206 a secondarydevice, which accordingly would have to be configured to respond only toControl information (e.g., Register Write commands) directed toregisters within its register address space, and give no response torequests for Status information (e.g., Register Read commands) directedto registers within its register address space. Note that either of thefirst IC 202 or the second IC 206 may be the primary device, with theother being a secondary device, and that there may be multiple secondarydevices.

The interface of the secondary device to the control/status serial bus304 in such an embodiment must be specially configured to receive onlyControl information, and be silent with respect to Status requests fromthe control/status serial bus 304. Essentially, this means deactivating,subverting, or omitting the circuitry that would normally be responsiblefor responding to a request for Status information (e.g., a RegisterRead command); FIG. 3 thus shows that the second IC 206 has a “C only”interface (note that this does not mean that Status requests are notcoupled, only that no Status information is provided in response to suchrequests). Such configuration may be done at the time of manufacturethrough changes to the IC mask or by tying selected input/output pads toa selected potential (e.g., circuit ground or the circuit voltagesupply). Alternatively, such configuration may be done aftermanufacture, such as by “blowing” fusible links or making/breakingconnections to external module input/output pads or pins in order toapplying a selected potential to one or more enabling circuits. Forsecondary (slave) devices that do not need to support all commands, andthus have a reduced function I/O, omitting the pertinent circuitry thatwould normally be responsible for responding to a request for Statusinformation will generally result in a smaller (and thus less expensiveto manufacture) device.

The C/S interface of the primary device in such an embodiment may beconfigured in the “standard” way for a vendor, meaning that no specialconfiguration is necessary. This is an advantage, in that the primarydevice can be used in both a single-IC module and a multi-IC modulewithout special configuration. Alternatively, the primary device may bespecially configured to keep track of its own Status information and anyStatus information common to the primary and secondary devices. Thisleads to some duplicate circuitry (particularly for “shadow” write/readcontrol registers) in the primary device so that it can replicate thecorresponding circuitry in the secondary device, but allows the primarydevice to provide a valid response to status requests from the masterdevice by “mimicking” a response on behalf of the secondary device (inother words, no status information is actually provided by the secondarydevice, but the primary device fictionalizes or “spoofs” such data sothat a response valid in form is provided to the master device). Forexample, if the master device requests status information from aregister within the register address space of the second IC 206, thefirst IC 206, configured with duplicate shadow registers covering theaddress space of the second IC 206, would respond instead, thussatisfying the master device. As with secondary devices, specialconfiguration of a primary device may be made at the time of manufactureor after manufacture.

Serial Embodiment

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an internally serial C/S embodiment of amulti-IC module 400 with improved signal routing. Except as describedbelow, the layout of components within the module 400 is as shown inFIG. 2, and accordingly the reference numbers of such elements remainsthe same. Internal read/write registers have been omitted for clarity.

In the illustrated embodiment, the C/S interface of the first IC 202 iscoupled through a single module serial bus 302 to a control/statusserial bus 304 (which may be a MIPI RFFE serial bus), as in FIG. 3. Incontrast to FIG. 3, the second IC 206 is internally serially coupled toa “pass-through” (PT) interface of the first IC 202, which isessentially internally coupled to the corresponding C/S interface of thefirst IC 202, as indicated by the dotted line (some buffer circuitry maybe interposed between the two interfaces if needed). Both the first andsecond ICs 202, 206 are configured internally with the same USID, andthus both respond to the same slave address (e.g., SA[3:0]).

Additional secondary ICs may be coupled to the PT interface of the firstIC 202 over a serial bus (as indicated by a third IC 402 shown in dashedoutline), or alternatively “daisy chained” to each other (i.e., eachsecondary IC having a C/S interface as well as a “pass-through”interface like the first IC 202). Accordingly, from the point of view ofa master device on the control/status serial bus 304, the multi-ICmodule 400 appears to be a single addressable slave device.

In the illustrated example, the primary device (the first IC 202 in thiscase) receives C/S signals over the single module serial bus 302 fromthe control/status serial bus 304, and buffers and re-transmits such C/Ssignals through its pass-through interface to the secondary device (thesecond IC 206 in this case). Because there are again multiple physicaldevices, the register address space of the first and second ICs 202, 206is split between them, as with the parallel architecture in FIG. 3. Asin the parallel architecture, only the primary device provides Statusinformation to the control/status serial bus 304.

For some serial bus standards (e.g., the MIPI RFFE bus), a secondarydevice may be specially configured, as described above for the parallelarchitecture shown in FIG. 3, to deactivate, subvert, or omit thecircuitry that would normally be responsible for responding to a requestfor Status information. However, there is no requirement for a secondarydevice to be “silent”, as the primary device can be configured for sucha bus standard to prevent bus contention on the control/status serialbus 304, since all C/S information for a secondary device passes throughthe primary device. Accordingly, the primary device can either blockstatus requests from being passed-through to a secondary device, orblock responses by a secondary device from being passed-through to themaster device.

In the internally serial configuration of FIG. 4, in order to avoidtiming issues that may be caused by the buffering of C/S signals to andfrom a secondary device, the primary device may be specially configuredto keep track of its own Status, the Status of a secondary device, andany common Status information. Again, such a configuration requiresduplicate “shadow” register circuitry in the primary device. If timelyStatus information is not available from a secondary device, the primarydevice may fictionalize or “spoof” such data so that a response valid inform is provided to the master device. As described above, specialconfiguration of a primary device may be made at the time of manufactureor after manufacture.

Alternatively, for some serial bus standards, the primary device may befast enough, or the serial bus standard slow enough or compatible withsome delay in responses, that the primary device can pass throughresponses from a secondary device to the master device without having tofictionalize or “spoof” response data.

An advantage of the internally serial architecture is that secondarydevices do not require any redesign to disable the circuitry that wouldnormally be responsible for responding to a request for Statusinformation. Thus, such ICs can be repurposed, such as being the only ICin another module. Another advantage of the internally serialarchitecture is that the loading on the control/status serial bus 304 islimited to the loading characteristics (e.g., input capacitance,leakage, speed impact) from a single IC, since only the primary deviceis coupled to the single module serial bus 302. Thus, adding more thanone secondary device will not change the loading presented to thesystem.

Dynamic Address Translation Embodiment—Overview

With the internally parallel or internally serial architecturesdescribed above, one or both ICs in a multi-die module may need to bechanged (i.e., re-designed and re-manufactured) for the module to behaveas a single logical device. In a third embodiment of the invention, adynamic address translation architecture provides a way to create amulti-die module that at most incurs modification of the primary IC,leaving secondary ICs alone; in some embodiments, even the primary ICneed not be changed.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a dynamic address translation C/Sembodiment of a multi-IC module 500 with improved signal routing. Exceptas described below, the layout of components within the module 500 is asshown in FIG. 2, and accordingly the reference numbers of such elementsremains the same. Internal read/write registers have been omitted forclarity.

Added to the multi-IC module 500 is a dynamic address translation (DAT)circuit 502. The DAT circuit 502 includes a C/S interface that iscoupled through a single module serial bus 302 to a control/statusserial bus 304 (which may be a MIPI RFFE serial bus), as in FIG. 3.Again, from the point of view of a master device on the control/statusserial bus 304, the multi-IC module 500 appears to be a singleaddressable slave device.

If more than two IC devices are included in the multi-IC module 500, orif there is a desire to use only unmodified ICs as IC devices, then itmay be more economical or convenient to fabricate the DAT circuit 502 asa separate IC within the multi-IC module 500, in which case the DATcircuit 502 IC is the primary device in the multi-IC module 500 and allother ICs within the multi-IC module 500 are secondary devices. However,in many cases, it may be more economical to incorporate thefunctionality of the DAT circuit 502 as a subcircuit within another IC(e.g., the first IC 202, as suggested by the dotted connecting lines inFIG. 5), in which case that IC is the primary device in the multi-ICmodule 500.

The function of the DAT circuit 502 is to translate or map DeviceAddress and Register Address information provided to the multi-IC module500 by a master device into corresponding internal addresses, andre-direct command messages to internal slave devices (primary and/orsecondary) based on such translated internal addresses. The translationmay be done, for example, by combinatorial logic and/or a look-up table(e.g., implemented in a read-only memory circuit). Such translation ispossible because, due to the internal partitioning of functions withinthe multi-IC module 500, the internal slave devices can be assignedunique sets of Register Addresses. Accordingly, a specific DeviceAddress and Register Address from a master device can be translated(mapped) to a unique Device Address and Register Address of an IC withinthe multi-IC module 500.

As in the Serial Embodiment of FIG. 4, for some serial bus standards, asecondary device may be specially configured to deactivate, subvert, oromit the circuitry that would normally be responsible for responding toa request for Status information. However, there is no requirement for asecondary device to be “silent”, as the DAT circuit 502 can beconfigured for such a bus standard to prevent bus contention on thecontrol/status serial bus 304, since all C/S information for a secondarydevice passes through the DAT circuit 502. Accordingly, the DAT circuit502 can either block status requests from being passed-through to asecondary device, or block responses by a secondary device from beingpassed-through to the master device. In addition, in order to avoidtiming issues that may be caused by the buffering of C/S signals to andfrom a secondary device, the DAT circuit 502 may be specially configuredto keep track of its own Status (as essentially a primary device), theStatus of each secondary device, and any common Status information.Again, such a configuration requires duplicate “shadow” registercircuitry in the DAT circuit 502. If timely Status information is notavailable from a secondary device, the DAT circuit 502 may fictionalizeor “spoof” such data so that a response valid in form is provided to themaster device. As described above, special configuration of a primarydevice may be made at the time of manufacture or after manufacture.Alternatively, for some serial bus standards, the DAT circuit 502 may befast enough, or the serial bus standard slow enough or compatible withsome delay in responses, that the DAT circuit 502 can pass throughresponses from a secondary device to the master device without having tofictionalize or “spoof” response data.

DAT Embodiment—Example of Address Mapping

Referring to FIG. 5, the DAT circuit 502 may be assigned an internalDevice Address (i.e., a USID) of “0001”, which is the Device Addressused by the master device to address the multi-IC module 500 as a unit.The first IC 202 may be assigned an internal Device Address of “1000”,while the second IC 206 may be assigned an internal Device Address of“1001” (alternatively, the Device Address of the first IC 202 may be thesame as the Device Address of the DAT circuit 502). TABLE 1 below showstwo examples of 12-bit commands frames issued by the master device overthe control/status serial bus 304, and coupled to the DAT circuit 502through the single serial module bus 302.

TABLE 1 Example # Command Frame Meaning DAT Mapping 1 0001:010:00000 ForDevice #1, 1000:010:00000 Write to Register #0 2 0001:010:01111 ForDevice #1, 1001:010:01111 Write to Register #15

In the first example, the command frame from the master device isdirected to device “0001”, specifies a “Register Write” command “010”,and specifies the first register in that device, having Register Address“00000”. The DAT circuit 502, having a USID of “0001”, will respond tothe command frame. Using a lookup table or other mapping circuitry, thecommand frame (and subsequent associated Write Data frames) istranslated and internally directed by the DAT circuit 502 to the firstIC 202, which was assigned the internal Device Address of “1000” and isthe only internal device in the multi-IC module 500 having a registerwith an address of “00000”.

In the second example, the command frame from the master device is againdirected to device “0001”, specifies a “Register Write” command “010”,and specifies the 15^(th) register in that device, having RegisterAddress “01111”. Again, the DAT circuit 502, having a USID of “0001”,will respond to the command frame. Using a lookup table or other mappingcircuitry, the command frame (and subsequent associated Write Dataframes) is translated and internally directed by the DAT circuit 502,this time to the second IC 206, which was assigned the internal DeviceAddress of “1001” and is the only internal device in the multi-IC module500 having a register with an address of “01111”.

In an alternative configuration, the DAT circuit 502 can re-map RegisterAddresses as well. For example, the command frame in the second exampleof TABLE 2 below could be mapped not only to the second IC 206 (internalDevice Address of “1001”), but to a different Register Address, such asto register “00000” rather than to register “01111”. Because both theDevice Address and the Register Address are used for such mapping, thereis no ambiguity despite the possibility that another IC device (internalDevice Address of “1000”) in the multi-IC module 500 also has a registerwith the address of “00000”.

TABLE 2 Example # Command Frame Meaning DAT Mapping 1 0001:010:00000 ForDevice #1, 1000:010:00000 Write to Register #0 2 0001:010:01111 ForDevice #1, 1001:010:00000 Write to Register #15 (remapped register)

Note that it is convenient to use consecutive Register Address rangesfor each of the first and second ICs 202, 206, but not necessary inlight of the ability of the DAT circuit 502 to re-map addresses.

DAT Embodiment—Real-Time Operation

Due to the fact that many control systems (including RF front endcontrol systems) may require a real-time response to command frames,Device Address and Register Address translation is not always a simpletask. For example, to meet a real-time requirement for the MIPI RFFEserial bus, the DAT architectures described above can be configured tooperate in a mode that utilizes the bit-sequential characteristic ofserial data transfer and the capability of the control/status serial busto abort a command. Common control/status serial buses (such as the MIPIRFFE serial bus) have a variety of ways of aborting a command, includinginducing a parity error, sending a negative acknowledgement, stoppingthe system clock (e.g., SCLK), or sending a “STOP” condition or a new“START” condition before the current command has completed.

Referring to FIG. 5, the DAT circuit 502 (again, which may be integratedwithin the first IC 202 acting as the primary device for the multi-ICmodule 500) may receive a command frame over the control/status serialbus 304 from the bus master. As described above, the command framecomprises a sequence of bits. In most cases, those bits only havemeaning when a set of bits has been accumulated and decoded. Thus, forexample, a 4-bit slave Device Address requires accumulation of 4sequentially received bits from a command frame before decodingcircuitry can determine which slave device is being addressed.

Using this characteristic, in the DAT real-time mode, the DAT circuit502 may be configured to always map the Device Address and RegisterAddress bits from a received non-broadcast command frame to internalDevice Address and Register Address bits and transmit the mapped bits toevery internal slave device (primary or secondary) coupled to the DATcircuit 502 for which a real-time response is desired, as a form of“look ahead” transmission. (Note that in some serial protocols, thereare special situations—for example, for broadcast commands—where allslave devices receive an un-mapped Device Address and/or RegisterAddress).

At the point where the DAT circuit 502 can definitively determine that anon-broadcast command frame is not intended for a particular internaldevice, then the DAT circuit 502 will commence a process to abort thecommand being re-transmitted to that device. Conversely, if the DATcircuit 502 definitively determines that a non-broadcast command frameis intended for a particularly internal device, then that device hasalready received at least a mapped Device Address and is prepared toreceive any remaining Register Address bits not already received. Thus,the DAT circuit 502 need not wait to receive all of the bits of a DeviceAddress and a Register Address from a master device and only thencommence mapping to the proper internal slave device. TABLE 3 sets forthseveral examples of the operation of the DAT circuit 502 for bothnon-broadcast and broadcast command frames:

TABLE 3 Real-Time DAT Mapping to Example # Command Frame Meaning 1^(st)& 2^(nd) Internal ICs 1 0001:010:00000 For Device #1, 1000:010:00000Write to 1001:010:0{abort} Register #0 2 0001:010:01111 For Device #1,1000:010:0{abort} Write to 1001:010:01111 Register #15 3 0011:010:00000For Device #3, 00{abort} Write to 00{abort} Register #0 4 0001:010:01000For Device #1, 1000:010:0{abort} Write to 1001:010:01{abort} Register #85 0000:010:00011 Broadcast to 0000:010:00011 all Devices, 0000:010:00011Write to Register #3 6 0001:010:00100 For Device #1, 1000:010:00100Write to 1001:010:00100 Register #4

Note that in TABLE 3, the “{abort}” instances shown are when the DATcircuit 502 detects that a command needs to be aborted and commences anabort process compatible with the serial bus standard in use. The actualcompletion of the abort process may take some time after thecommencement of the abort process. Accordingly, it should be understoodthat “aborting a command” encompasses “commencing a process to about acommand”. For example, the DAT circuit 502 may set a flag as anindicator to other circuitry to abort a particular command to a device.The actual implementation, signaling, and timing of the process requiredto abort a command may vary depending on the specific serialCommand/Status protocol in use.

Using the first example from TABLE 3, and assuming that the first IC 202(USID=“1000”) only has a single register (address=“00000”) and that thesecond IC 206 (USID=“1001”) also only has a single register(address=“01111”), if the command frame received by the DAT circuit 502is “0001:010:00000”, the DAT circuit 502 will map and re-transmit thereceived bits of that command frame to the first IC 202 as“1000:010:00000” and concurrently map and re-transmit the received bitsof that command frame to the second IC 206 as “1001:010:00000” (thebolded numbers indicating the remapping of the received Device Addressto an internal Device Address). If the first 4 received bits do notmatch the USID of the DAT circuit 502 (USID=“0001”), then the DATcircuit 502 will commence a process to abort the command beingre-transmitted to both internal devices. If the received Device Addressmatches the USID of the DAT circuit 502, mapping and re-transmission bythe DAT circuit 502 continues to both internal devices until the DATcircuit 502 can definitively determine that a particular internal deviceis not the intended target of the entire command frame, or is theintended target of the entire command frame. In the first example inTABLE 3, at the 9^(th) bit of the command frame (i.e., the second bit ofthe Register Address, a “0”), the DAT circuit 502 can determine that thecommand frame is not intended for the second IC 206 (since its singleregister is mapped to a Register Address of “01111”), and thus commencea process to abort the command to the DAT circuit 502 second IC 206, asindicated in the “DAT mapping” column. Similarly, if the command framewas “0001:010:01111”, as in the second example in TABLE 3, the DATcircuit 502 will commence a process to abort the command to the first IC202 at the 9^(th) bit of the command frame (i.e., the second bit of theRegister Address, a “1”), since the first IC 202 has no register with anaddress starting with a “1” in this example.

The third example in TABLE 3 shows that the DAT circuit 502 commences aprocess to abort the command to both the first IC 202 and the second IC206 once a determination is made by the DAT circuit 502 (USID=“0001”)that it is not being addressed (some other IC, device #3 having a USIDof binary “0011”, is instead being addressed by the master device).

The fourth example in TABLE 3 shows that the DAT circuit 502 commences aprocess to abort the command (e.g., by setting a flag) (1) first for thefirst IC 202 once a determination is made by the DAT circuit 502 thatthe register address (“01000”) in the received command frame cannot bemapped to the single register (address=“00000”) of the first IC 202, and(2) next for the second IC 206 once a determination is made by the DATcircuit 502 that the register address in the received command frame(“01000”) cannot be mapped to the single register (address=“01111”) ofthe second IC 206. As this example demonstrates, commencing a process toabort a command may occur at different points in the dynamic addresstranslation process.

The fifth example in TABLE 3 shows the broadcast case, where DeviceAddress “0000” is a broadcast command to which all devices must respond.In this case, the Register Address portion of the received command frameis passed on to both the first IC 202 and the second IC 206 with notranslation by the DAT circuit 502.

The sixth example in TABLE 3 assumes that all slave devices (primary andsecondary) each have a register with a shared Register Address. Thus, inthis example, the first IC 202 (USID=“1000”) and the second IC 206(USID=“1001”) each have an additional register with an address of“00100”. In this case, Device Address mapping occurs (i.e., the receivedcommand frame is passed to both devices), but not Register Addressmapping (i.e., both first IC 202 and the second IC 206 receive the sameWrite command). This mode of partial address translation is useful forsome types of operations, such as trigger commands. For example, triggercommands may be used if multiple registers in the same device, or inmultiple devices, are required to be loaded at exactly the same time orif the timing of the system requires multiple registers to be loaded, orspecific actions to take place, within a timing-critical window of time.

Accordingly, the above examples illustrate three of the possible usesfor Register Address mapping: (1) Register Address mapping takes place;(2) Register Address Mapping starts to take place, but is aborted; and(3) Register Address mapping does not take place.

DAT Embodiment—Connections to Internal ICs

Referring again to FIG. 5, for some serial bus standards (particularlynon-real time serial buses), the connection of a DAT circuit 502 tointernal slave devices may be through dedicated serial signal lines, asshown in FIG. 5, or alternatively through shared serial signal lines. Asan further example of dedicated serial signal lines, FIG. 6A is a blockdiagram of a stand-alone dynamic address translation (DAT) circuit 502coupled to multiple slave devices 604 a-604 d through correspondingindividual serial signal lines (the enclosing module has been omittedfor clarity). Clock and data signals SCLK, SDATA from a system-widecontrol/status serial bus 602 are coupled to the DAT circuit 502. Theclock signal SCLK is passed through to the slave devices 604 a-604 d.Each slave device 604 a-604 d also receives signals on a correspondingdedicated serial signal line, SDATA0-SDATA3.

Each slave device 604 a-604 d in FIG. 6A has a USID. The DAT circuit 502also has its own USID (unique with respect to the control/status serialbus 602), which may be different than the USID's of any of the slavedevices 604 a-604 d, or match the USID on one of the slave devices 604a-604 d. The DAT circuit 502 can be configured to enable or disable itsindividual serial bus connections SDATA0-SDATA3. So long as acombination of Device Address and Register Address from the masterdevice uniquely defines the registers of each slave device 604 a-604 d,the combined Device Address/Register Address mapping going to thecorresponding slave devices 604 a-604 d on each serial data lineSDATA0-SDATA3 can be kept separated by enabling or disabling respectiveserial buses, and the architecture shown in FIG. 6A allows use ofidentical (down to the USID) ICs more than once in a multi-die module.An example would be using the same switch IC for transmit and receivepaths in a multi-die module.

As an example of operation, each of the slave devices 604 a-604 d may beassigned an internal Device Address of “0001”. Using the combined DeviceAddress and Register Address from the master device and control over theoperational state of the respective dedicated serial data linesSDATA0-SDATA3, the DAT circuit 502 can map and transmit a command onlyto the appropriate slave device 604 a-604 d. The configuration shown inFIG. 6A is particularly well suited for use with a DAT circuit 502operating in a real-time mode.

As an example of shared serial signal lines, FIG. 6B is a block diagramof a stand-alone dynamic address translation (DAT) circuit 502 coupledto multiple slave devices 606 a-606 d through shared serial signal lines(the enclosing module has been omitted for clarity). Clock and datasignals SCLK, SDATA from a system-wide control/status serial bus 602 arecoupled to the DAT circuit 502. The clock signal SCLK is passed throughto the slave devices 606 a-606 d. Each slave device 606 a-606 d alsoreceives signals on a shared serial signal line, SDATA_s. In thisconfiguration, each slave device 606 a-606 d should have a unique USID(e.g., decimal “10”, “11”, “14”, “15”), and “listen” for its DeviceAddress on the shared serial signal line, SDATA_s. In the alternative,each slave device 606 a-606 d must be configured with registers that areuniquely addressable. Device Address and Register Address signalsprovided by the master device through the SDATA signal line of thecontrol/status serial bus 602 are mapped by the DAT circuit 502 to theDevice Address of one of the slave device 606 a-606 d. Accordingly, eachslave device 606 a-606 d operates in a conventional fashion, respondingto a mapped Device Address matching its USID, while the DAT circuit 502presents only a single USID to a master device coupled to thecontrol/status serial bus 602.

As should be clear, it is possible to combine the architectures shown inFIG. 6A and FIG. 6B, such that the DAT circuit 502 is coupled to someslave devices through dedicated serial signal lines, as in FIG. 6A,while being coupled to other slave devices through shared serial signallines, as in FIG. 6B, so long as the registers in the slave devices areuniquely addressable.

Methods

Another aspect of the invention includes methods for connecting acircuit module in a housing for a plurality of integrated circuits (ICs)while presenting a single unique address to a system control/statusserial bus. For example, FIG. 7 is a process chart showing a method 700for connecting C/S interfaces of multiple ICs in parallel within amulti-IC module. This method may include: providing an internal moduleserial bus configured to be coupled to the system control/status serialbus (STEP 702); coupling a primary IC having at least one addressablecontrol register and an associated control/status interface to theinternal module serial bus (STEP 704); coupling at least one secondaryIC, each having at least one addressable control register and anassociated control/status interface to the internal module serial bus inparallel with the control/status interface associated with the primaryIC (STEP 706); within the primary IC and each secondary IC, respondingto control commands received through the internal module serial bus fromthe system control/status serial bus that correspond to a uniqueaddressable control register within such primary IC or secondary IC(STEP 708); within only the primary IC, responding to status requestsreceived through the internal module serial bus from the systemcontrol/status serial bus (STEP 710); and within each secondary IC, notresponding to such status requests (STEP 712).

This method may also encompass the primary IC including a set ofduplicate addressable control registers corresponding to addressablecontrol registers in at least one secondary IC, and further include,within the primary IC, responding to status requests received throughthe internal module serial bus from the system control/status serial busand directed to an addressable control register of such at least onesecondary IC.

As another example, FIG. 8 is a process chart showing a method 800 forconnecting C/S interfaces of multiple ICs in series within a multi-ICmodule. This method may include: providing an internal module serial busconfigured to be coupled to the system control/status serial bus (STEP802); coupling a primary IC having at least one addressable controlregister and an associated control/status interface to the internalmodule serial bus, the primary IC having a pass-through interfacecoupled to the associated control/status interface of the primary IC(STEP 804); coupling a first secondary IC having at least oneaddressable control register and an associated control/status interfaceto the pass-through interface of the primary IC (STEP 806); within theprimary IC and the secondary IC, responding to control commands receivedthrough the internal module serial bus from the system control/statusserial bus that correspond to a unique addressable control registerwithin such primary IC or secondary IC (STEP 808); and within only theprimary IC, responding to status requests received through the internalmodule serial bus from the system control/status serial bus (STEP 810).

This method may also encompass any one or more of the following:

-   -   The primary IC including a set of duplicate addressable control        registers corresponding to addressable control registers in the        secondary IC, and further include, within the primary IC,        responding to status requests received through the internal        module serial bus from the system control/status serial bus and        directed to an addressable control register of the secondary IC.    -   The first secondary IC including an associated pass-through        interface coupled to the associated control/status interface of        the secondary IC, and further include coupling an associated        control/status interface of a second secondary IC having at        least one addressable control register to the pass-through        interface of the first secondary IC.    -   In the primary IC, blocking responses by the first secondary IC        to status requests that correspond to a unique addressable        control register within the first secondary IC.    -   In the first secondary IC, not responding to status requests        received from the system control/status serial bus that        correspond to a unique addressable control register within the        first secondary IC.

As another example, FIG. 9 is a process chart showing a method 900 forconnecting C/S interfaces of multiple ICs within a multi-IC module usinga dynamic address translation architecture. This method may include:providing an internal module serial bus configured to be coupled to thesystem control/status serial bus (STEP 902); coupling a dynamic addresstranslation (DAT) circuit to the internal module serial bus (STEP 904);coupling a plurality of ICs, each having at least one addressablecontrol register and an associated control/status interface, to the DATcircuit through such associated control/status interface (STEP 906);receiving control and status requests in the DAT circuit through theinternal module serial bus from the system control/status serial bus(STEP 908); and translating each control and status request in the DATcircuit and transmitting the translated control and status request toone addressable control register of one of the plurality ICs (STEP 910).

This method may also encompass any one or more of the following:

-   -   Coupling each slave IC to the DAT circuit through a        corresponding dedicated serial signal line.    -   Coupling each slave IC to the DAT circuit through a shared        serial signal line.    -   Receiving each control and status request in the DAT circuit as        a command comprising a sequence of bits, transmitting the        sequence of bits to at least some of the plurality of ICs until        a definitive intended IC is determined by the DAT circuit, and        thereafter aborting the command sent to unintended ICs.    -   Integrating the DAT circuit internally to one of the plurality        of ICs.

Options and Fabrication Technologies

An additional aspect of the invention is that an internally serial C/Sembodiment such as is shown in FIG. 4, or a dynamic address translationC/S embodiment such as is shown in FIG. 5, may also do formattranslation. For example, if the serial data protocol on the C/S serialbus 304 is some form of the MIPI RFFE standard, the output of the PTinterface of the first IC 202 in FIG. 4, or the protocol on the internalC/S serial bus coupled to the DAT circuit 502, may be one or more otherserial formats (e.g., for the DAT circuit 502, some of the SDATAx signallines in FIG. 6A may be MIPI and some SPI, or all may be SPI). Thiswould allow inclusion of ICs within a multi-IC module that do notnatively communicate over the C/S serial bus 304. Techniques andcircuits for such format translation are well known in the industry, buttheir application in the context of the present invention would beunique.

As should be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art,various embodiments of the invention can be implemented to meet a widevariety of specifications. Unless otherwise noted above, selection ofsuitable component values is a matter of design choice and variousembodiments of the invention may be implemented in any suitable ICtechnology (including but not limited to MOSFET and IGFET structures),or in hybrid or discrete circuit forms. Integrated circuit embodimentsmay be fabricated using any suitable substrates and processes, includingbut not limited to standard bulk silicon, silicon-on-insulator (SOI),silicon-on-sapphire (SOS), GaN HEMT, GaAs pHEMT, and MESFETtechnologies. However, the inventive concepts described above areparticularly useful with an SOI-based fabrication process (includingSOS), and with fabrication processes having similar characteristics.Fabrication in CMOS on SOI or SOS enables low power consumption, theability to withstand high power signals during operation due to FETstacking, good linearity, and high frequency operation (in excess ofabout 10 GHz, and particularly above about 20 GHz). Monolithic ICimplementation is particularly useful since parasitic capacitancesgenerally can be kept low (or at a minimum, kept uniform across allunits, permitting them to be compensated) by careful design.

The term “MOSFET” technically refers to metal-oxide-semiconductors;another synonym for MOSFET is “MISFET”, formetal-insulator-semiconductor FET. However, “MOSFET” has become a commonlabel for most types of insulated-gate FETs (“IGFETs”). Despite that, itis well known that the term “metal” in the names MOSFET and MISFET isnow often a misnomer because the previously metal gate material is nowoften a layer of polysilicon (polycrystalline silicon). Similarly, the“oxide” in the name MOSFET can be a misnomer, as different dielectricmaterials are used with the aim of obtaining strong channels withsmaller applied voltages. Accordingly, the term “MOSFET” as used hereinis not to be read as literally limited to metal-oxide-semiconductors,but instead includes IGFETs in general.

Voltage levels may be adjusted or voltage and/or logic signal polaritiesreversed depending on a particular specification and/or implementingtechnology (e.g., NMOS, PMOS, or CMOS, and enhancement mode or depletionmode transistor devices). Component voltage, current, and power handlingcapabilities may be adapted as needed, for example, by adjusting devicesizes, serially “stacking” components (particularly FETs) to withstandgreater voltages, and/or using multiple components in parallel to handlegreater currents. Additional circuit components may be added to enhancethe capabilities of the disclosed circuits and/or to provide additionalfunctional without significantly altering the functionality of thedisclosed circuits.

A number of embodiments of the invention have been described. It is tobe understood that various modifications may be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, some of thesteps described above may be order independent, and thus can beperformed in an order different from that described. Further, some ofthe steps described above may be optional. Various activities describedwith respect to the methods identified above can be executed inrepetitive, serial, or parallel fashion. It is to be understood that theforegoing description is intended to illustrate and not to limit thescope of the invention, which is defined by the scope of the followingclaims, and that other embodiments are within the scope of the claims.(Note that the parenthetical labels for claim elements are for ease ofreferring to such elements, and do not in themselves indicate aparticular required ordering or enumeration of elements; further, suchlabels may be reused in dependent claims as references to additionalelements without being regarded as starting a conflicting labelingsequence).

What is claimed is:
 1. A circuit module for housing a plurality ofintegrated circuits (ICs) while presenting a single unique address to asystem control/status serial bus, including: (a) an internal moduleserial bus configured to be coupled to the system control/status serialbus; (b) a primary IC having at least one addressable control registerand an associated control/status interface coupled to the internalmodule serial bus, and a pass-through interface coupled to theassociated control/status interface of the primary IC; and (c) a firstsecondary IC having at least one addressable control register and anassociated control/status interface coupled to the pass-throughinterface of the primary IC; wherein the primary IC and the secondary ICrespond to control commands received through the internal module serialbus from the system control/status serial bus that correspond to aunique addressable control register within such primary IC or secondaryIC, and wherein only the primary IC responds to status requests receivedthrough the internal module serial bus from the system control/statusserial bus.
 2. The invention of claim 1, wherein the primary IC includesa set of duplicate addressable control registers corresponding toaddressable control registers in the secondary IC, and wherein theprimary IC responds to status requests received through the internalmodule serial bus from the system control/status serial bus and directedto an addressable control register of the secondary IC.
 3. The inventionof claim 1, further including at least one additional secondary IC, eachhaving at least one addressable control register and an associatedcontrol/status interface coupled to the pass-through interface of theprimary IC.
 4. The invention of claim 1, wherein the first secondary ICincludes an associated pass-through interface coupled to the associatedcontrol/status interface of the secondary IC, and further including asecond secondary IC having at least one addressable control register andan associated control/status interface coupled to the pass-throughinterface of the first secondary IC.
 5. The invention of claim 1,wherein the primary IC blocks responses by the first secondary IC tostatus requests received through the internal module serial bus from thesystem control/status serial bus that correspond to a unique addressablecontrol register within the first secondary IC.
 6. The invention ofclaim 1, wherein the first secondary IC is configured to not respond tostatus requests received from the system control/status serial bus thatcorrespond to a unique addressable control register within the firstsecondary IC.
 7. The invention of claim 1, wherein the first secondaryIC is configured to omit circuitry for responding to status requestsreceived from the system control/status serial bus that correspond to aunique addressable control register within the first secondary IC.
 8. Acircuit module for housing a plurality of integrated circuits (ICs)while presenting a single unique address to a system control/statusserial bus, including: (a) an internal module serial bus configured tobe coupled to the system control/status serial bus; (b) a dynamicaddress translation (DAT) circuit, coupled to the internal module serialbus; and (c) a plurality of ICs each having at least one addressablecontrol register and an associated control/status interface coupled tothe DAT circuit; wherein the DAT circuit receives control and statusrequests through the internal module serial bus from the systemcontrol/status serial bus, and translates and transmits each control andstatus requests to one addressable control register of one of theplurality ICs.
 9. The invention of claim 8, wherein each slave IC iscoupled to the DAT circuit through a corresponding dedicated serial datasignal line.
 10. The invention of claim 8, wherein each slave IC iscoupled to the DAT circuit through a shared serial data signal line. 11.The invention of claim 8, wherein the DAT circuit receives each controland status request as a command comprising a sequence of bits, andtransmits the sequence of bits to at least some of the plurality of ICsuntil a definitive intended IC is determined by the DAT circuit, andthereafter aborts the command sent to unintended ICs.
 12. The inventionof claim 8, wherein the DAT circuit is integrated internally to one ofthe plurality of ICs.
 13. A method for connecting a circuit module in ahousing for a plurality of integrated circuits (ICs) while presenting asingle unique address to a system control/status serial bus, including:(a) providing an internal module serial bus configured to be coupled tothe system control/status serial bus; (b) coupling a primary IC havingat least one addressable control register and an associatedcontrol/status interface to the internal module serial bus, the primaryIC having a pass-through interface coupled to the associatedcontrol/status interface of the primary IC; (c) coupling a firstsecondary IC having at least one addressable control register and anassociated control/status interface to the pass-through interface of theprimary IC; (d) within the primary IC and the secondary IC, respondingto control commands received through the internal module serial bus fromthe system control/status serial bus that correspond to a uniqueaddressable control register within such primary IC or secondary IC; and(e) within only the primary IC, responding to status requests receivedthrough the internal module serial bus from the system control/statusserial bus.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the primary IC includesa set of duplicate addressable control registers corresponding toaddressable control registers in the secondary IC, and furtherincluding, within the primary IC, responding to status requests receivedthrough the internal module serial bus from the system control/statusserial bus and directed to an addressable control register of thesecondary IC.
 15. The method of claim 13, further including coupling anassociated control/status interface of at least one additional secondaryIC having at least one addressable control register to the pass-throughinterface of the primary IC.
 16. The method of claim 13, wherein thefirst secondary IC includes an associated pass-through interface coupledto the associated control/status interface of the secondary IC, andfurther including coupling an associated control/status interface of asecond secondary IC having at least one addressable control register tothe pass-through interface of the first secondary IC.
 17. The method ofclaim 13, further including, in the primary IC, blocking responses bythe first secondary IC to status requests that correspond to a uniqueaddressable control register within the first secondary IC.
 18. Themethod of claim 13, further including, in the first secondary IC, notresponding to status requests received from the system control/statusserial bus that correspond to a unique addressable control registerwithin the first secondary IC.
 19. The method of claim 13, furtherincluding, in the first secondary IC, omitting circuitry for respondingto status requests received from the system control/status serial busthat correspond to a unique addressable control register within thefirst secondary IC.
 20. A method for connecting a circuit module in ahousing for a plurality of integrated circuits (ICs) while presenting asingle unique address to a system control/status serial bus, including:(a) providing an internal module serial bus configured to be coupled tothe system control/status serial bus; (b) coupling a dynamic addresstranslation (DAT) circuit to the internal module serial bus; (c)coupling a plurality of ICs, each having at least one addressablecontrol register and an associated control/status interface, to the DATcircuit through such associated control/status interface; (d) receivingcontrol and status requests in the DAT circuit through the internalmodule serial bus from the system control/status serial bus; and (e)translating each control and status request in the DAT circuit andtransmitting the translated control and status request to oneaddressable control register of one of the plurality ICs.
 21. The methodof claim 20, further including coupling each slave IC to the DAT circuitthrough a corresponding dedicated serial data signal line.
 22. Themethod of claim 20, further including coupling each slave IC to the DATcircuit through a shared serial data signal line.
 23. The method ofclaim 20, further including receiving each control and status request inthe DAT circuit as a command comprising a sequence of bits, transmittingthe sequence of bits to at least some of the plurality of ICs until adefinitive intended IC is determined by the DAT circuit, and thereafteraborting the command sent to unintended ICs.
 24. The method of claim 20,further including integrating the DAT circuit internally to one of theplurality of ICs.